Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Published Fiction

A story I wrote 13 years ago--long before I began making trash art myself. I was amazed when I went over to proofread, not having read it in years, how precient it was--projecting someting of myself I didn't know existed. A kind of (not so) shaggy dog story on Long Story Short. Ezekiel Rising

2 comments:

Hey, Jacob. I was in your Freshmen English class at Saint Joe's University. Wondering if we could get back in touch. Haven't done much writing in the last few years (aside from some personal journal writing - I've been studying computer engineering, which doesn't require much but lab reports), and I'm looking to get back into it a little. I'm sure you're busy, as I see you've got lot's of published works coming out, but shoot me a message if you're interested in some banter with a curious youth. My facebook is Caitlyn Oleykowski (network: Singapore or Pittsburgh)

Nice to hear from someone from those years at SJU. I'm not teaching now--writing full time. I often think back on those classes... how if it had been my choice, I sure wouldn't have started with Chaucer... I'd want to show young students the most contemporary, excitingly Indy work FIRST... and once they'd tasted the pleasure of seeing our own times through new eyes, trust they'd be curious to discover where this stuff came from and how it's evolved over generations and centuries, and how it's connected to what writers are doing now.

The popular myth has it that writers & poets are lonely social recluses working in splendid isolation, communing only with their monadic muse--nothing could be further from the truth. Artists have always sought the company of others engaged in creative work--of all kinds. The mind needs the stimulus of other minds--in community, friendship--and always--through reading. That's by way of saying--if you're interested in writing, get out and find other writers any way you can--and the more daring & unconventional the better.

Philly (and Pittsburgh too, if that's where you are now), has a vibrant community of poets doing cutting edge work, with readings and workshops and book launches. If you'd like, I'll ask about readings you might go to, where I'm sure you could find people doing fiction too if that's your interest.

Again, I'm always happy to exchange thoughts on books your reading, ideas about writing, your own work--and to pass on information about connections that might be helpful to you.